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A lot has
been written about changes to the nation’s health care system in recent months.

The
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and other factors are forcing us to
change the way we think about insurance and medical costs, and it is becoming
increasingly clear that individuals will have to assume more responsibility for
their own health and well-being than ever before.

Employers
are reinforcing that message by requiring staff members to keep a closer eye on
their health by getting regular checkups and adopting healthier lifestyles.
Words such as preventative care are becoming a part of everyday vocabularies.

The
uncertainties posed by the health care changes are a concern and we may feel
ill-equipped to deal with them. How do we find the motivation we will need to
meet the new challenges?

That’s
why people like Rhonda Foulds are so inspiring. Foulds has Parkinson’s disease,
but that doesn’t define her. It is her determination and drive to overcome the
disease that sets her apart.

Foulds is
a runner who has competed in at least 300 races since 2009. She said she
developed a love for running because it helps her forget — that 10 years ago
she was confined to a wheelchair, that she has Parkinson’s disease and that’s
she in the 14th year of the 20 years doctors said she could expect to live.

Parkinson’s
disease is a motor system disorder caused by the loss of dopamine-producing
brain cells. Early symptoms are subtle, occur gradually and usually affect
people older than 50.

“I was
35,” she told us. “And I was pretty depressed to say the least.”

Some of
the symptoms that Foulds experiences include stiffness of the limbs, depression
and imbalance. In fact, she told us that it’s sometimes difficult for her to
get out of bed.

Foulds
credits running with saving her life and returning the drive for life that she
lost after her diagnosis. More than 10 years ago, she said was taking about 30
medications, was about 100 pounds heavier and sinking further into depression.

Foulds
said she discovered that running temporarily restored the dopamine levels that
decrease over time in Parkinson’s patients. According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, dopamine is a chemical that helps control the
brain’s reward and pleasure centers. It also helps regulate movement and
emotional responses. According to the CDC, studies show that physical activity
can help treat Parkinson’s, which is incurable.

Dr.
Giselle M. Petzinger, who is with the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, said
exercise can help people like Foulds walk and move more normally. And research
is beginning to reveal how it reconditions the underlying brain circuits, she
said.

Earlier
this year, Foulds was one of the more than 20,000 runners who competed in the
Boston Marathon. She got off to a slow start and called her husband, who was
waiting at the finish line, to tell him that she was feeling sluggish and the
run would take a little longer than usual.

Her
husband decided to leave the area, and a few minutes later, two bombs exploded
near the finish line. Foulds’ race was cut short by eight miles.

Like many
runners who participated in the Boston Marathon this year, Foulds said she will
return next year.

Yes,
Foulds is an inspiration and an example to the rest of us that we can overcome
almost any challenge if we keep the right attitude and believe in ourselves.

She
didn’t start out running marathons, Foulds told us.

“It was
very short distances at first. It was something like running to a tree and
back,” she said. “But it slowly grew over time.”